SZA is the ultimate in cool-girl inspiration, from her music to her one-of-a-kind hair, beauty and fashion looks. But she didn't get that way by following the trends or what's popular. She used trial and error to find out the products and techniques that most efficiently worked for her.
SZA shared her hair secrets with Refinery 29 backstage at New York Fashion Week. And although we'll be taking notes, the most important thing we learned from her tips is that just because your favorite celebrity likes something doesn't mean it will work for you. So try out her techniques, but don't be so quick to cement them into your own daily routines — find out what works for you!
"I don’t fuck with the Internet because the Internet will steer you somewhere crazy," she said, "The Internet had me fucking with coconut oil, which honestly dries my hair out. Castor oil is the only thing that gets me right. I have 4c hair, so my shit is porous. As long as you put on some type of water-based cream and lock it in with an oil, it honestly doesn’t matter what you use."
And SZA probably isn't the only person who has been less than thrilled with the Internet's favorite oil, coconut oil (I know it does less than spectacular things for me, too). Let your strands do the talking! Don't listen to what you think should be working for your hair. Listen to what actually does.
"If I have to shampoo, I do it twice," she said, "And then I️ condition hard as fuck for the rest of the day. Protein leaves my hair hella dry, so egg is my weird thing to do. I use a lot of Manuka honey on my hair, too. And I put [hemp oil] and castor oil on my scalp anytime I do a protective style."
Paying attention to how your hair reacts to different moisturizers and proteins is essential to nailing your hair routine, and figuring out your hair's porosity and curl pattern can help.